Accompanied by Wei Zhenfeng, Zhao Mian visited almost all of the Beiyuan Embassy, except for the backyard and some confidential places. Although he did not obtain any key information, he had a better understanding of the customs and practices of Beiyuan.
After that, it was time for the banquet.
Just as Zhao Mian expected, the table was filled with fish and meat, with soy sauce as if it was free. The stew pot was bigger than Zhou Huairang's face, and Zhao Mian lost his appetite after just a few glances. But these were the cases of many vice-chairmen. The chairman's dishes were obviously specially arranged for the distinguished guests.
Fried fish mouth, fish balls in soup, fish soul soup with four treasures... There are more than ten dishes in total, a full fish feast, even the dumplings are filled with fish meat. Each dish is not much, each is very skillfully made, and the presentation is not sloppy, revealing the word exquisiteness everywhere.
As the host, Wei Zhenfeng naturally sat in the main seat. Zhao Mian sat on his left. He still looked distant and noble, but he was obviously not so frugal with words. Sometimes his sentences had more than thirty words, which was really rare.
Wei Zhenfeng personally served a small bowl of milky white crucian carp soup to the distinguished guest: "Your Highness, please."
Zhao Mian was still picky at this time. He pushed the bowl back and said, "The crucian carp has too many bones."
Wei Zhenfeng thought for a moment, and said in front of everyone at the table, "Then I will help Your Highness pick out the fish bones?"
Everyone: “… ?”
When the young prince said this, not only the officials of Beiyuan, but even the people of Nanjing who came to the banquet with the prince were stunned.
Yi Qian, who was sitting at the last table, was always mindful of his supervisory duties and quickly sent a reminder look to the young prince: Keep your mind pure and desires few, stay away from beauty; stay away from beauty, keep your mind pure and desires few.
Wei Zhenfeng saw it but pretended not to see it, as if he didn't think it was a demeaning thing to pick fish bones for the prince of a neighboring country. If the person involved was Zhao Mian, he would probably remember that he was the one who picked fish bones for Wei Zhenfeng when he saw the fish in the future, so what right did he have to eat the fish
Zhao Mian accepted this "good intention" as a matter of course, raised his lips slightly, and said: "In this case, I will trouble you, Your Majesty."
Yi Qian sighed secretly, feeling it was too much to watch.
After the meal, Zhou Huairang took advantage of the others not paying attention and whispered to Zhao Mian, "Your Highness, the young prince seemed to be particularly attentive to you today. Is it because he wants the antidote to the male and female poison that he is trying to please you in every way?"
Zhao Mian naturally knew what Zhou Huairang could see. He sneered, "Is it not so? Wei Zhenfeng is not a considerate person, and he will not be nice to me for no reason. If he is too attentive to me for no reason, he is either a traitor or a thief. You just wait and see, when he has done enough to please me, he will talk to me about business."
After the fish feast, it was already dark. Zhao Mian did not leave in a hurry because he had not discussed the business. Wei Zhenfeng felt uncomfortable at the fish feast and was busy entertaining the guests, so he did not eat much. After serving Zhao Mian, Wei Zhenfeng could not wait to join the next table, picked up a pot of unopened wine and drank with his colleagues. It seemed that he was really pent up by the elegant meal.
Fortunately, even though the handsome young man ate and drank lavishly without caring about his image, his behavior did not appear rude at all. Instead, he had a carefree and unrestrained youthful spirit. The two teardrop moles under his eyes looked even more seductive and eye-catching as he gradually became tipsy.
Not far from Wei Zhenfeng, Bai Yu, the only female guest, was unexpectedly treated like a star. A group of burly military officers surrounded her, talking nonstop.
These military officers have been traveling around with the young prince for many years, and have suffered many injuries, some of which seem to have recovered, but the sequelae are still with them, and they pop up from time to time to make their presence felt, causing them a lot of trouble. They have also seen doctors in Beiyuan and Dongling, but the effect is minimal. Today, they finally met a kind and beautiful doctor, who is also from the Nanjing East Palace, so they naturally don't want to miss this opportunity.
Bai Yu gave them a general examination with His Highness's permission. These people all had old injuries, and it was unlikely to be cured, so they could only be nursed back to health slowly to alleviate the pain when the old illnesses recurred.
Everyone lined up to see the doctor, and it was the turn of a young man in his early twenties. Bai Yu glanced at him and said calmly: "The tip of the nose is black and the steps are weak. This is a sign of too much sexual intercourse."
Such straightforward words first shocked all the men present, and then caused a burst of laughter.
Wei Zhenfeng was not surprised. Although he had little contact with Bai Yu, he knew that Bai Yu was a unique and extraordinary woman, otherwise she would not have said such a famous saying as "either be strong or die".
"Xiao Chen has only been married for three months. Who hasn't indulged in romantic affairs when they were young? It's understandable, it's understandable!"
"Xiao Chen, this won't work. You have to give up sex, otherwise how can you work wholeheartedly for the prince?"
The young man scratched his head and said very embarrassedly: "I can't even quit drinking, how can I quit that?"
Wei Zhenfeng held the wine pot in one hand and put his other hand on the young man's shoulder, and asked Bai Yu curiously: "Is this harder to quit than drinking?"
Bai Yu had a gentle smile on her face, but she said, "It's okay. You will only be addicted for a few years. When you are older, you won't have this worry anymore. Instead, you will be replaced by another worry."
Wei Zhenfeng breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "I'm relieved."
Zhao Mian disliked their noise, but at the same time he thought that this was indeed an overly lively winter solstice, and he wondered if the Nanjing Palace was also so lively.
Zhao Mian was just toasted with a few glasses of wine by Wei Zhenfeng and others at the banquet. He didn't feel anything when he first drank it, but the wine was very strong. He felt the heat on his cheeks and a little dizzy. He ordered Shen Buci to put on a fox fur coat for him and accompany him for a walk outside to sober up in the breeze.
Wei Zhenfeng drank three rounds before he realized that Zhao Mian had disappeared. He finally got rid of An Yuanhou who was trying to play a drinking game with him and found Zhao Mian at the side door of the embassy.
Zhao Mian heard Wei Zhenfeng's footsteps without turning his head. He pointed at a three or four-story tower in front of him, with two guards on the top: "Is this a watchtower?"
"Well, standing on it and looking down, you can see the whole embassy."
Zhao Mian turned around and asked, "Did you have it built?"
Wei Zhenfeng saw Zhao Mian's cheeks flushed with drunkenness, and naturally looked away: "After all, we are in Dongling's territory, so we must be extra careful in everything." Wei Zhenfeng was holding two pots of freshly warmed wine in his hands. He handed one of the pots to Zhao Mian, "Aren't you cold? Have some wine to warm yourself up."
Zhao Mian became interested: "I want to go up and take a look."
Wei Zhenfeng said: "Sure, there is a ladder there."
Zhao Mian said: "Take me upstairs."
Wei Zhenfeng raised his eyebrows slightly: "How can I take you up there?"
Zhao Mian was puzzled: "You know Qinggong, so you should hold my waist and lead me up."
"I refuse." Wei Zhenfeng said without thinking, "You climb the ladder yourself."
Zhao Mian: “…”
What's wrong with Wei Zhenfeng again? He's so shy and timid, like an idiot. They've slept together before, so what's the big deal
It was impossible for him to climb the ladder. It would be unsightly for him to climb the ladder in his gorgeous attire. Prince Nanjing could not do anything unrefined in front of officials from other countries.
Zhao Mian turned to Shen Buci and said, "Take me up."
Shen Buci was much more obedient than Wei Zhenfeng: "Yes."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Buci's hand rested on Zhao Mian's shoulder.
Wei Zhenfeng was slightly startled, looking at Zhao Mian, then at Shen Buci's hand, hesitant to speak. However, before he could say anything, Shen Buci took Zhao Mian and leaped into the air, landing steadily on the top of the tower.
Zhao Mian looked down at him condescendingly: "Why don't you come up?"
Wei Zhenfeng shook his head secretly, suppressed the slight strangeness in his heart, stood up and stepped to the top of the tower, landed beside Zhao Mian, and saw that Shen Buci's hand had already left Zhao Mian's shoulder, and he consciously retreated to the dark.
The chill was even worse at high altitudes, and white mist came out with every breath. There was a vague noise coming from the banquet hall not far away. Not only the Beiyuan Embassy, but most of Kyoto City was at Zhao Mian's feet.
Look up and you will see the galaxy; look down and you will see thousands of lights.
As the alcohol got stronger, Zhao Mian closed his eyes and quietly felt the cold wind blowing on his slightly hot cheeks.
Next, it was finally time for the highlight of the day.
Zhao Mian bluntly told Wei Zhenfeng to give up: "I am satisfied, but I won't give you the antidote."
Wei Zhenfengqing couldn't help but applaud the Crown Prince's decisiveness: "Very good, very direct. It seems that you really want to force me to use my trump card."
Zhao Mian closed his eyes and sneered: "At this point, you still have a trump card?"
"Yes." Wei Zhenfeng said, "Gu Ruzhang, does it count?"
Zhao Mian suddenly opened his eyes, and the drunkenness in his eyes disappeared without a trace in an instant.
Seeing Zhao Mian's reaction, Wei Zhenfeng knew that he was right: "You used this move to target Gu Ruzhang from the beginning."
Having said that, Zhao Mian didn't intend to beat around the bush with Wei Zhenfeng: "Yes, but I am also really unhappy about you sleeping with me twice."
Wei Zhenfeng suddenly lost his expression and said helplessly: "Let's talk about business, Your Highness. Can you put aside the two matters for the time being?"
Zhao Mian said "yes", and immediately asked: "So, Gu Ruzhang is in your hands? He didn't commit suicide for his country?"
Wei Zhenfeng took a sip of wine, stared at the wine pot and said calmly: "Gu Ruzhang is reluctant to die. He hasn't seen the restoration of Xixia with his own eyes, how can he bear to die." Wei Zhenfeng smiled, "Even if he is humiliated, even if life is worse than death, even if every moment is a living hell for him, Gu Ruzhang will not ask for death. He will hold on until... all hope is gone, and all thoughts are lost."
Zhao Mian could tell from Wei Zhenfeng's tone that Wei Zhenfeng didn't seem to be completely gnashing his teeth at Gu Ruzhang because of the trick he had set on him. Instead, he felt a little sorry for the talented person. It was as if he felt sorry that Gu Ruzhang, a man of great talent with a beautiful appearance and a rock-hard heart, was not born in his Beiyuan, but in the hopeless Xixia, and became his opponent.
Zhao Mian lowered his eyes and looked at his wrist. That eye-catching red line had been with him for more than a month.
If Gu Ruzhang is really not dead, then he is most likely in Wei Zhenfeng's hands. With Wei Zhenfeng's ability, it is impossible for him not to find out the relationship between Gu Ruzhang and Wan Huameng.
Zhao Mian said in a deep voice: "You have always known about the affair between Gu Ruzhang and Wan Huameng."
Zhao Mian's tone was so certain that Wei Zhenfeng had nothing to pretend. He readily admitted, "Yes."
Zhao Mian looked unhappy: "You have been acting in front of me for so long, haha."
He recalled the night when he and Wei Zhenfeng visited Xi Garden together. He thought he had kept it a secret from Wei Zhenfeng, but he didn't expect that Wei Zhenfeng knew everything early in the morning.
Zhao Mian couldn't help but ask, "If that's the case, why did you go with me to check the gift list of Xuyuan?"
Wei Zhenfeng explained, "You misunderstood me. I only knew that they had an unusual relationship, but I didn't know how unusual it was or how unusual it was. But when I saw your unnatural expression and heard you tell the story of killing your mother to create a funeral ceremony to see the one you love, I almost guessed something. Wan Huameng... must be terribly in love with Gu Ruzhang," the young man laughed, with a playful expression of watching a good show, "Not only did he keep recreating the wedding banquet when he and Gu Ruzhang first met, he even went so far as to cast a curse on himself. Who wouldn't say that he's amazing? Although Wan Huameng is a lunatic, he has a soft spot, and his soft spot is Gu Ruzhang, the Grand Tutor."
Zhao Mian quietly clenched his hands hidden in his brocade sleeves. With every word Wei Zhenfeng spoke, his strength increased.
What a great little prince of Beiyuan! He even tried so hard to hide it. I’m so angry.
Fortunately, Wei Zhenfeng has a trump card, and he also has his trump card.
Zhao Mian suppressed the frustration in his heart and said calmly: "Hand over Gu Ruzhang, and I will give you the antidote."
Wei Zhenfeng said calmly, "Not to mention that Gu Ruzhang may not be in my hands, even if he is, I can't give him to you. It was my Beiyuan who destroyed Xixia. Everything in Xixia, whether it's beauties or relics, belongs to Beiyuan. No other country can covet it."
"Then why are we still wasting time here?" Zhao Mian said coldly, "There is nothing to talk about now. I advise His Majesty to quickly find the antidote for the male and female Gu, so that you won't be able to cry out to heaven or earth when the Gu breaks out in three months."
After saying that, he turned and left.
"Don't worry, I think we can both take a step back." Wei Zhenfeng held the man back, "Although I can't give him to you, I can give you an important token of his."
Zhao Mian asked suspiciously, "What token?"
"It might be able to make Wan Hua Meng speak, or it might be able to lure out the token of the remnants of the Imperial City Division. How useful it is depends on how capable you are." Wei Zhenfeng said cheerfully, "I want to use it to exchange for the antidote to the male and female poison. What do you think?"
Zhao Mian fell into deep thought.
Once the male and female Gu were resolved, he and Wei Zhenfeng would be free to look for the Xixia relics, and Wei Zhenfeng would have to deal with the remnants of the Imperial City Division. This was obviously not an easy problem to solve, otherwise Wei Zhenfeng would not have been looking for it for two years without finding it.
The Xixia relics are the accumulation of hundreds of years of property of the Xixia royal family and dignitaries. The amount is huge, comparable to the treasury of a small country. In addition to the North and South, Dongling must have been watching in the dark for a long time. How could Wei Zhenfeng be so kind to give him important clues to find the relics? If the "token" he mentioned can really lead to the people of the Imperial City Bureau, why doesn't Wei Zhenfeng use it himself
But at the same time, Zhao Mian was also very clear that among the three kingdoms, Beiyuan was the most likely to find the Xixia relics. Beiyuan was the kingdom that witnessed the fall of Xixia, and the intelligence and clues held by Fuxue Tower far surpassed those of the other two kingdoms. Only by using Beiyuan's intelligence could Nanjing have a chance of winning. Even if it could not take the Xixia relics alone, it could still get a share.
Wei Zhenfeng waited patiently for a while and asked, "Have you thought it through?"
Zhao Mian asked: "How do I know that what you give me will be useful?"
Wei Zhenfeng smiled and said, "You must have confidence in your own talents, Your Highness."
Unconsciously, the two of them tacitly used the same self-proclaimed name.
"No matter how confident I am, I can't stop the prince from doing bad things behind my back." Zhao Mian pondered, "I agree to this deal, but I have one condition."
"Your Highness, please speak. I am all ears."
Zhao Mian said word by word: "Before we find the Xixia treasure, I wish to accompany you all the way."
Only in this way can he keep abreast of Beiyuan's every move, prevent Wei Zhenfeng from making trouble in his backyard, and ensure that Nanjing will not return empty-handed in the fight for the relics.
Wei Zhenfeng stared at Zhao Mian for a long time and smiled: "Of course, the poison has not yet been cured in the bodies of the prince and His Highness. We have to spend the next 15th of November, 15th of December, and the Lantern Festival on the 15th of the first lunar month together, right?"
Lantern Festival? This is one of the most important festivals in Nanjing. Not being able to reunite with her father, the Prime Minister, is bad enough, but she also has to sleep with Wei Zhenfeng.
What a sin.
Wei Zhenfeng raised the wine pot towards Zhao Mian: "Deal?"
After weighing the pros and cons, Zhao Mian raised the wine jug in his hand and gently touched it with Wei Zhenfeng's: "Deal."
At this moment, Yi Qian, who witnessed everything at the foot of the tower, was heartbroken and distressed.
Look at these two people. Not only are they chatting privately while enjoying the snow away from everyone else, but they are also pulling each other. How disgraceful.
Forget it, the little prince should not let beauty distract him from his work. Anyway, his eyes were almost popped out the whole night, and the little prince also looked at Prince Nanjing a few times and even picked fish bones for him.
Yi Qian wanted to leave in anger, but after taking two steps, he couldn't help but look back.
But I saw two young men standing opposite each other, drinking together under the moon in front of flowers, and having a very happy conversation.
It is the best time of youth, with a faint glow on the body, frost and snow on the lips, and a pillow of fresh breeze.
Who would have thought that what they were talking about were actually major issues concerning the country's economy and people's livelihood.
(End of this chapter)